White Bones, Red Tape
by cass-clari
Summary: The lastest Kathy Reichs novel from the best selling author Dr Temperance Brennan.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all. This is the first chapter of Dr Brennan's novel. It's based on the murders from the episode "The Bodies in the Book" and features Kathy Reichs and Andy Lister. I hope you enjoy it :D xxCass**

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"Fantastic! Yet another flattering shot off my ass." 

The case had closed over a week ago, but the media wouldn't leave it alone. Dr Kathy Reichs had been hounded by phone calls at all hours of the day, and this photo was the last straw. She had to get out of town and get out fast. She was used to the media's scrutiny and could usually handle it, but this case had been hard on everyone. The excavation of three bodies in less than two days was tough and the work had taken its toll. It seemed like every muscle in her body was aching.

Kathy and her partner Special Agent Andy Lister had spent the last four weeks working on the case of a serial killer who preyed on young women with blonde hair. They had finally caught him, but when searching his property found another three bodies; Tanya, Deidre and Petra. They had also worked out the reason for his obsession. His twin sister had mysteriously disappeared two years ago, and the murdered women all resembled her. Without evidence to prove it they couldn't charge Terry, but everyone working the case believed he had killed her. They had put the monster away for the other five murders, but for some reason the media wasn't satisfied.

The photo in the Washington Daily had been taken while Kathy was doing the preliminary examination of Tanya. She was bent over the body, sweating and had already worked for five hours at the time. The media focus had turned personal and Kathy wanted nothing more than to escape for a few days. She reached for her phone and called the one person who could relate.

"Madame Bones. Missing me already, are we?" Andy Lister was well known for his flirtatious nature and Kathy no longer worried about it.

"You wish. I'm just ringing to let you know I'm going to be out of town for a few days. If anything turns up you'd need me for, I am on my phone, but Mark should be more than capable to handle it."

"You're taking a vacation? I don't blame you, Kat. Given half the chance I'd join you, but Crocker's assigned me a new case this morning. Nothing too strenuous, but it's enough to keep my mind off the media. Nice photo in the Daily by the way."

"Oh god, you've seen it. I don't know how they got hold of it. We really need to tighten up security around the crime scenes."

"Kat, I promise you, we are doing everything we can. The media are relentless, though you know this better than anyone." The partners were both thinking about one photographer who they had to get a restraining order to stop his phone calls. As unpleasant as that situation was, Kathy knew it wouldn't be the last time she would have to deal with the media through the courts. "Where are you planning on going?"

"I'm not really sure, somewhere with no newspapers or TVs hopefully. Somewhere out of town that's quiet."

"You're more than welcome to my beach house if you wish. I haven't used it for a while, but it shouldn't be too bad. Take Bailey up there for the weekend and try and relax."

"Thanks Andy. I owe you one."

Disconnecting, Kathy felt far more relaxed. That man knew her inside out, almost too well sometimes. His uncanny ability to know exactly what she was thinking was unnerving at times and irritating at others, but she would be lost without him.

_Perfect, _she thought_. A weekend at the beach to relax and then I'll come back and catch up on all the work I've missed._ She was driving along the highway in under an hour.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi. Here's the next chapter. realised i forgot the disclaimer etc on the last chapter. This is all my own work, no infringment intended. Kathy Reichs is a purely fictional character and shares no similarities except her name with Dr Kathy Reich's. Also the murder's are FOX's imagination, not mine.**

**Please read and review, let me know what you think. All input or ideas are appreciated. I'm not from America, so don't know anything about the geography of DC or the jurisictions etc. Any inaccuracies let me know and I'll fix them. Also, if you find I refer to Andy as Ryan, its midnight here in NZ and I got totally confused and muddled the two characters up. Again let me know if I haven't fixed something. Thanks for reading, xxCass**

"Kat, we have a case."

Dr Reichs looked up as Agent Lister strode into her room. It was Monday, and she had returned room her weekend away rested and ready for work. Presently, she was trying to document evidence from their last case; a task she had been avoiding for over a week. The paperwork seemed endless, but she welcomed the interruption warily.

"It looks like we've got a serial killer on our hands."

"Lets not jump to conclusions, Andy." Kathy was logical as always and more than happy to let the evidence do the talking. As a scientist she was not one to speculate. She often found Lister's theories annoying to say the least, despite the fact he was often right.

"Come with me, I'll explain on the ride to the crime scene."

"Two weeks ago, a body was discovered in the Columbia Island Marina. It was a Hispanic woman named Mia Cabeen. 25 years, worked as a nurse in the oncology department at Washington Children's hospital. Mia lived with her boyfriend, who reported her missing when she didn't return home from work last Sunday.

"Mia's body was found attached to the anchor of a coast guards boat on Monday morning. It was taken to the coroners, who determined she had been in the water for 10 hours. She was smothered with a pillow before being taped to the anchor and lowered into the harbour."

"Andy, I'm an anthropologist, not a pathologist-"

"Patience, my friend. Another body has been discovered, bound by the same red tape. This time most of the flesh has been eaten away by rats. There's no way the coroner can work with this body. Also, the body was found in a different district. They've asked for the FBI to be involved."

"Okay, fine. Give me the case file. I'll make myself useful and read while you drive."

Twenty minutes later, the pair arrived at the parking lot to Providence Hospital. An area had been cordoned off and the media had already arrived. Flashing his badge, Lister led Kathy through the mass off people, towards the crime scene.

The scene before her made her stomach turn. Despite over ten years of working with the FBI, some crimes made her feel physically sick and this was one of the more gruesome she had had to deal with. The body had been almost entirely eaten away by the rats, and she could actually see the exposed bone in some places. For only ten rats, there seemed to be a lot of damage, and Kathy had to wonder how long the body had been out here for. It was only eight in the morning, but they were outside the 24 hour ER department.

"Any thoughts, Kat?" Andy was standing behind her, trying not to look at the body. Despite his tanned complexion, he looked slightly pale and his usually cocky demeanour had been replaced by a more subdued attitude.

Kathy just smiled back. Andy had worked with her long enough to know that as soon as she'd found something she would tell him.

Looking closer she discovered a small amount of skin was attached to the skull, with a clump of blonde hair. "Andy, maybe you could go interview some nurses or something? The victim appears to be blonde if that helps, though I wouldn't like to hazard a guess at age or sex at this point."

"Sure thing, call me if you find anything else."

With Andy gone, Kathy was able to work more efficiently. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy his company or that he wasn't quite often helpful; she just found she worked easier on her own, without him constantly looking over her shoulder.

Almost three hours had passed when Kathy had finally finished her preliminary scene examination. Lister had returned long ago to inform her that no one from the ER department had failed to report to work this morning and there had been no disturbances during the night. Kathy motioned to the crime scene unit that they could collect the body and take it back to the lab for analysis.

The pair climbed back into Lister's AMG and drove back to the lab to brief Kathy's team. It was going to be a long day.


End file.
